The Day it Changed Revised
by Go-Colts
Summary: On a fateful day Ron and Kim's once unbreakable bond is shattered. Amid the turmoil, Kim strives to pick up the broken pieces of a once priceless friendship. Written Post STD
1. Chapter 1

A/N—I know, I know. After reading this, many of you are going to say, "I liked the original better. A lot better." It only looks that way now, since the story is just beginning. I promise you all that this new version will get stronger as it progresses. I've slowed things down on purpose, just so that I don't rush ahead of myself. Please bear with me, and at least give these early chapters a chance before forcing me to go back to the original. After all, the problem with the original was that it started out far too quickly and angstily. With this new one, I'm going to start out slow and dully and eventually add the angst in.

I know this sounds like I'm just making a list of excuses, but I prefer to call them "explanations." Okay, so maybe they are excuses. :P Anyway, as most of you probably know by now my first chapter of TDiC did not save on my computer, so I had to go about rewriting it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I wasn't too happy about wasting three hours, so this chapter may also seem a bit rushed since I had to get this done before I went back to boarding school.

Anyway, please read and review and understand that this is just the beginning and, like the original, it's only going to get better.

**Chapter 1**

It wasn't that Ron overly enjoyed eating all morning in front of the TV everyday; it was just that he had nothing better to do. The scorching month of July had passed, and senior year loomed around the corner, though Ron could hardly care less. He didn't particularly enjoy school; in fact he didn't like it at all. It was just that to him at least there would be people around. Ever since Kim virtually stopped communicating with him since their last mission three months ago, he had nothing to do.

_'Damn it, it's not like I butchered the mission. We won anyway. Besides, it's not like I'm perfect every mission anyway, and she never got this mad at me before."_ Though Ron wasn't a very intuitive person, he couldn't help but realize that there was something deeper to Kim's outright anger this time. He had tried calling her numerous times, but each time she found a way to either brush him off or just flat out ignore him. So here he was, sitting in front of the TV munching on chips for the seventeenth consecutive day.

"Ron, honey, want to go do some shopping for school?" asked his mother from the entrance of the living room.

"No," Ron answered nonchalantly, not removing his eyes from the TV screen. His mother was clearly worried by Ron's slothful behavior in the past few weeks, but she didn't exactly want to pry. After all, the only thing that had kept her son from ending up like this had been that red-head Kim. Deciding that her son would be better after school started, she just said goodbye and left.

A few minutes after his mother had gone, Ron quietly stood up and yawned. He picked up the empty candy wrappers and headed to the kitchen to restock. The ring of the telephone jerked him from his thoughts.

_'Dad will pick it up.'_

The phone rang again. And again. And again. Sighing, Ron delayed his eating and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ron." KP. There was no mistaking it.

"KP? Um, hi." He didn't really know what else to say.

"Well…you sound pretty talkative today. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to do some back to school shopping with me."

"Um, cool," Ron said, stuck between shock and excitement.

"Okay, I'm going to come pick you up in a few."

"Sure thing. And KP…"

"Yea?" _What do I say?_

"Nothing, see you later."

"Bye Ron."

****

**Ron's POV**

It's hard to believe I'd ever be this nervous about shopping with KP. I mean, I've known her for what…fourteen years? Not just 'known her'…but best friends with her. The past three months had been the longest period I've gone through without seeing her. That wasn't even the worst part; I have this nagging feeling deep down that she doesn't really want to hang out with me anymore. I looked up to check the time and realized that I had better hurry up. I ran to my room, took a quick shower, slipped on some new clothes, and headed to my front door to wait. Seeing that I was early for once, I sat down by the window and stared at the serene scene outside. The warm sunlight felt good as it washed over my face. A lone but unforgettable memory flooded back to me.

_Pre-K…the good old days. The first day of Pre-K…the first day I met KP. It was recess. I scouted around the playground looking for some people to play with. The hot sunlight poured over my face, and it actually felt comforting. As my eyes wandered across the playground, I saw a redhead sitting alone. Gathering up my courage, I walked over to her._

_"Hi," I said shyly. She glanced up at me shyly, making no eye contact._

_"Hi," she said even more diffidently._

_"My name's…Ron."_

_"Ron, my name's Kim…Possible."_

_"Kim Possible? Haha, nice name." She had a nervous look on her face, as if she were afraid of something. "In a good way of course," I added quickly. "Can I call you KP?"_

_"Sure…"_

Ding Dong! The ringing of the doorbell jerked me from my thoughts. I jumped up and ran to the door and opened it.

"Um, long time KP."

"Yea Ron. I missed you. Sorry for blowing up on you last time." The past is the past.

"No problem. Anyway, want to go?"

"Yea, come on." I followed her to her car and jumped in. Within a few seconds, we were on our way to Middleton mall.

**X.X**

Red…yellow…green. We sped up again in silence. I hadn't uttered a word since we set off from my house. I slid back in my seat and just enjoyed the fact that I was once again with KP.

Her exquisite beauty never failed to amaze me, even after all these years. I'm not sure how long it took me to finally admit to myself that I truly found her attractive, nor how long I've had a crush on her. Well, it started as a crush anyway. There's no way what I feel for KP is just a 'crush' anymore. Crushes aren't supposed to send pangs through your stomach when you see her just innocently flirting with another guy. Crushes aren't supposed to keep you awake at night just thinking about her. Crushes don't drive you insane when you know you can't have her. You get over crushes in a few months. I've…liked? loved?...KP for years now. Maybe even a decade. With each passing year, I find it more and more impossible to tell her; we're drifting enough as it is already. I sighed audibly.

"Ron, everything okay?"

"Yea, tired, that's all," I lied.

"Oh." Silence. What was there to say? We may have been best friends for well over a decade, but I feel as if we're distant strangers at times. I looked out the window and watched the trees fly by. The leaves were still perfectly green, adhering to the hot but moderately comfortable summer in Middleton. Summer used to be my time, our time, before Kim became Miss Popular and I became another no-name. I audibly sighed again. She glanced over at me before turning into the Middleton Mall parking lot.

"Ron?"

"Yea?"

"You need anything?"

"Not really."

"Okay." There were no more words as she turned left and parked the car.

**X.X**

As usual during the summer, the mall was packed. Kim pulled me left, then right as she weaved through the masses. First stop: Club Banana. It sure had its share of people, chicks in short skirts or low rise jeans with their boyfriends, chicks in short skirts with other chicks in short skirts, and the employees.

"Over there," Kim said, pointing to my left. I followed her over to the women's section which surprisingly had an assortment of short, fashionable skirts and tight jeans.

"Oooh, this one looks so cute," Kim said, picking up a revealing but nevertheless classy skirt. It was sky blue and made from some type of smooth material.

"On me maybe, but surely not you," said a snobby voice from behind me. There was no mistaking it.

"Bonnie," said Kim disgustedly. Short skirt, healthy and natural tan, it was Bonnie alright, with her groupies standing silently next to her. When Kim and Bonnie went at it, people usually (wisely) kept out of it.

"I'm just trying to help. I mean, you don't want to get shown up on the first day of school do you?"

Kim was fuming now. Bonnie always had a way with getting under Kim's skin; then again, she had a way getting under almost anyone's skin if she tried.

"But then again, seeing as who you're dating these days…" she said, glancing over at me, "I guess it really wouldn't matter."

"For…your…information…" Kim said through clenched teeth, "Ron is just my friend."

"Whatever," Bonnie said with a condescending smirk. With that, she walked away with her groupies following closely behind like a herd of sheep.

"That. Bitch." She put the skirt back where she got it from and resumed her shopping.

**X.X**

"Hungry?"

"Starving," I said, walking out of Club Banana with six bags.

"Good, let's eat. My treat," she said, leading me to an empty table where I happily took a seat. "I'll go get us some food," she said. I watched her walk away, body shaking rhythmically.

_'Nice ass.'_

_'Shut up.'_

I turned away and just relaxed my aching arms and legs. _'I really need some exercise_.' She returned a few minutes later carrying a few cheeseburgers and fries.

"Thanks for coming, Ron," she said, handing me a cheeseburger.

"No problem. I've really missed spending time with you."

"Yea, same here. When was the last time we hung out like this?"

"Too long ago."

"Yea." There was a brief silence.

"Kim, have you noticed that we've been…drifting lately? I mean, we rarely hang out anymore since you're always out with your other friends." Ditto that. The last time I saw her was Australia three months ago.

"Yea, I guess we have…" An uncomfortable silence passed between us. Uncomfortable silence? Since do best friends have uncomfortable silences?

_'Why would she want to hang out with you? You're a loser.'_

_'She's my friend.'_

_'Loser.'_

_'Shut up.'_

"Do you think that…we'll always be friends?"

"Of course Ron! How can you even ask that? We've been best friends for fourteen years!" Her reassurance was comforting but nevertheless somewhat empty. She seemed to see my doubt. "Listen, I promise you we'll patch things up. We'll start by going to Bueno Nacho tonight…that is, if you want."

"Of course I want to!" I exclaimed.

_'Just like old times eh?'_

_'The best of times.'_

Kim giggled to herself. It seemed so cute and sexy at the same time. I just wanted to hug her, kiss her, be with her. The hope that maybe one day we really could be more than friends was rekindled, and I could only pray as I finished my meal.

X.X

I had to admit, that was some tasty food, almost as good as Bueno Nacho. Apparently, Kim had wanted to stop by a few more places before leaving. By a 'few' more, I mean just about every other store in the whole mall. Basically, I followed her from store to store, carrying everything that she found 'cute' or 'adorable.' As we browsed what seemed to be our millionth store, we bumped into the man I had least wanted to see: Josh Mankey. It wasn't exactly a secret that Kim had liked Josh ever since sophomore year, and it still drives me nuts. I could see Kim's knee wobble as she lost herself in Josh's eyes without him having to even say a word.

"Hey Kim."

"H, h, hi Josh," she stuttered. I felt a wave of envy creep through my body. Why couldn't she like me like she liked Josh?

"I'm so glad I ran into you today, since I've been thinking about you a lot lately. Call it destiny." _'Destiny? What a stupid thing to say.'_ Kim apparently didn't think so as she blushed furiously.

"I, I've missed you too." _'Death doesn't get her **this** nervous.'_

"Anyway, I've really missed you and…um…would you like to go to dinner tonight?" _'Sorry Josh; she's taken, at least for tonight.'_ Good thing we didn't bump into Josh before lunch.

"I'd love to!" Kim exclaimed in joy. What? "I mean, sure." What?!

"Cool, I'll pick you up at seven?" _Fuck you Monkey_.

"Sounds great!" I just stared on silently and in shock.

_'But…why…how?'_

_'Open your eyes, she's not the KP you fell in love with years ago.'_

_'What?'_

_'She's shallow now.'_ It wasn't the first time that thought had crossed my mind, but I had denied it every time. Now the evidence was staring me right in the face. Could Kim Possible, the girl I've known since I was four, be shallow?

_'No, of course not. I've known her my whole life.'_

_'People change.'_

_'NO!'_ I stared at the scene in silence; Josh gave Kim a tight hug before leaving. I felt a deep anger and sadness well from within me, and it took all my willpower to keep my emotions in check.

"Wow…he's so cute and charming," she said dreamily, completely oblivious to me. This definitely wasn't the first time KP had ditched me, and I finally realized that it surely wouldn't be the last. 'Open your eyes.' It hardly mattered to KP, since she was now clearly lost in her own world as she went through more clothes in her dreamy state.

**X.X**

The rest of the day had been almost completely silent. There were a few "can you hold these please" and "thank yous" thrown in, but other than that we didn't exactly talk. As I got into KP's car she gave me a big smile; it was beautiful, yes, but it was also tainted.

"Ron, is anything wrong?" 'What a fucking retarded question.'

"Is anything wrong?! What do you think?"

"What's going on?" This was just too much. Could she be this oblivious?

"What's going on?!" I yelled harshly at her. "Let me lay it out for you. Three months ago, I risk my life to go with you on another mission. Sure, I messed up but we won didn't we? What happens after that? I try calling you multiple times and you blow me off each time because you're obviously too busy fucking someone. Then, out of the blue you call me and ask me to go to the mall with you. Of course I'd be able to go, right? After all, I'm Ron…the loser. I wouldn't have plans would I?"

"Ron, I—"

"But guess what? Even if I did have plans, I would have canceled them for you because you're my best friend. I've traveled halfway across the world before just to watch out for you. Damn it, you don't even have a fucking clue how nice it was to finally be able to hang out with you again!" My voice started to crack, and I realized that tears wouldn't be too far. "Damn it, KP! I thought we were friends, best friends…but I guess I missed the memo. You don't even like hanging out with me in public anymore do you? You're ashamed, aren't you?" The car stopped by my house as she turned to face me.

"Ron, I…no, I still like to…" She was lying. To me, it was completely obvious now.

"I don't need your pity Kim. I know I'm not Josh Mankey…I'm just Ron Stoppable…Kim Possible's bumbling sidekick…the loser." She opened her mouth to say something but I had already opened the car door and run out, hot tears finally streaming down my face.

A/N—Okay, before I say anything I'd just like to say that The Day it Changed was inspired by Ace Lannigan's The Date. I'm not sure if I ever gave credit to it in the original but I'm giving it now since it's long overdue.

I understand that many of you will prefer the original, but please bear with me. This version will get better; it just starts off slowly because I want this version to have a more controlled pace. Also, I don't know why but is omitting a lot of italics and I'm too lazy to correct them atm. Well, without any further ado, let the flames commence!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N—To the readers of the original story, don't be put off because you think that this story is basically a rehash of the plot of the old story. It might look like that at times, but I am pretty sure that it is quite different in its own respects. Anyway, please read and review.

**Chapter 2**

The teacher monotonously droned on about literature, as Ron Stoppable felt himself succumbing to sleep. The smooth whir of the fan in the background did nothing to ameliorate the situation. Before he knew it, Ron was fast asleep.

_"Do you think we'll always be friends?" Ron asked the question nervously, oblivious to everyone else in the mall._

_ "Of course Ron! We've been best friends for fourteen years!" An overwhelming shadow appeared over the duo._

_ "Hi Kim."_

_ "Josh!" Before Ron could do anything, Josh led Kim away. Ron persistently chased after him, but no matter how fast he ran he was always behind the laughing couple._

_ "KP!"_

_ "Too late, Stoppable. Stoppable. Stoppable." 'Why's he keep saying that?'_

"STOPPABLE!" Ron jerked awake.

"Huh? What?" He looked around and realized it was just a dream. _'Just a dream.'_

"For the last time, stay awake in my class or you're going to get a detention."

**Ron's POV**

_'Well, that went well.'_ I sat up and stared blankly at the blackboard as an eternity passed by. Then again, time didn't seem to have much meaning anymore. Everything seemed routine…too routine.

I guess that's what happens when you're not involved in any activities. It's the same everyday: wake up, school, homework, sleep. Of course, there'd be eating in between, but it just wasn't the same without KP. Then again, nothing was.

Ever since that day, I've just tried to move on, tried to accept the fact that I couldn't live in this illusion of being best friends any longer. We clearly weren't; I guess it just doesn't work that way in high school. When I realized she really wasn't much different from every other superficial girl I've met, I thought that it'd be easier for me to stop liking her. It's too bad love doesn't work like that. Deep down, I still saw her as _my_ KP, the one I've known so well since pre-K and not this…stereotypical, shallow cheerleader. In fact, ever since that day, she never stopped by or called; she doesn't bother saying 'hi' in school or even make much eye contact. That's the worst feeling, to not even be noticed anymore.

So for the past month, I've been trying to force myself to stop liking her. I felt that slowly but sure I was making progress, even trying to _hate_ her at times. After all, if she hadn't even bothered to make any type of communication with her supposed 'best' friend, she was probably trying to force me out of her life right? _RING!_ The bell mercifully rang, jerking me from my thoughts and the boredom of Mrs. Cram's class. I carried on like a drone from class to lunch, then to another boring class, and then to my last class of the day. As usual, I was still half asleep as I entered my last class, where our permanent substitute was Mr. Barkin.

The interesting thing about his class was the seating arrangements. The desks were lined up against the wall so that three sides of the walls contained desks. Mr. Barkin would stand at the front center of the classroom, the wall with no desks, and lecture us on a variety of works. However, he put Kim right next to Bonnie and seemed to keenly focus on their behavior towards each other. He put me across the room from Kim, which meant that whenever I looked up I'd see her and vice-versa. We've never made eye contact this whole month. If I didn't know better, I'd say that Barkin was trying to taunt me by putting Kim right there.

I put my head against my desk and stared off into blank space as Barkin droned on and on and on. There were a few that paid careful attention to Barkin, but most of the class eventually drifted off one way or the other. However, one part of this class caught my attention.

"And can anyone tell me why the narrator chose such a lugubrious fate?" I heard Barkin say. "Possible!"

"Um, no one would listen to her?" Kim asked, clearly taken off guard. Bonnie smirked and raised her hand. She had drifted off as much, if not more, than Kim had, but Kim had the misfortune of being called on first, which meant that she was completely unprepared. Set on any chance of making herself better than Kim, Bonnie had leapt into action the second Barkin called on Kim. It seemed to an obsession of hers, to be better than Kim.

"Rockwaller, would you care to provide for us a more in-depth answer?"

"The narrator was clearly alone in the world, when those closest to her wouldn't believe her own feelings about herself. What they say is true, that solitude leads to apathy, and apathy leads to death, if not without then within. When she couldn't even trust those closest to her, she was truly alone in the world. She had nowhere to go but within, her solitude, her prison." I'm not sure if it was just my imagination, but I could see a grimace cross over Bonnie's face for just a second. It was so subtle I couldn't even be sure if it were real or not. Her words meant something to me; solitude eventually becomes unbearable. Everyone needs somebody. In that one moment, I saw Bonnie not as Kim's rival and snobby bitch, but I saw Bonnie as a person, capable of emotions.

"That's a very interesting way of looking at things. Possible, take notes and you might just give a meaningful answer for once!" Barkin barked loudly. As expected, Bonnie became Bonnie again as she gave Kim a sickingly sweet smile. I pondered this for a few more minutes as I stared into space again.

_Ring!_ The ringing of the final bell jerked me awake. Relieved that the day had finally, mercifully ended, I packed my books and headed out the door. Unfortunately, I was still drowsy and ran into someone, causing her to drop her books. As I uttered my apologies and leaned down to help her pick them up, I found myself staring into Kim's eyes. To say that the moment was uncomfortable would be an understatement. I'm not sure if she felt too guilty about her actions, but I personally felt ashamed. I mean, she basically implied that I wasn't even good enough to be her friend; yet she was still Kim Possible, and she needed to believe herself to be a good person.

"Ron…" she said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence by starting up a conversation.

"KP," I acknowledged with a small nod.

"I'm really sorry about…this summer." And you damn well should be.

"It's fine."

"Um, it's been a long time. I haven't talked to you in a while." Not that you've tried.

"Yea."

"Well, you want to go hang out at Bueno Nacho this week?" It's weird how the smallest acts can change one's mood so greatly.

"KP, you know the Ron-man can't turn down Bueno Nacho," I said, trying to slip into my old persona. She gave a slight laugh. "How about Fridays like before?" She bit her lower lip.

"Well, actually I'm busy Friday…" Figures. "But Thursday's okay." Oh well.

"Cool, meet you there at six? Same booth as always?"

"Yea, see you there." She left for her locker as I headed home for another night of homework and TV. Ever since I've stopped talking to KP, I've started doing homework out of sheer boredom.

_'That's definitely a sign of insanity.'_

Well, at least my grades have been the best they've been since…well ever. It's hard to believe all I had to do was work. I slept soundly and happily that night, hopeful that I could finally patch things up with KP.

**Meanwhile…**

"Shego! I'm telling you this will work!" yelled Drakken in another one of his childish tantrums. Shego just rolled her eyes.

"Right, just like everything else you say will work."

"This is different! It doesn't involve destruction."

"Whatever."

**X.X**

Bonnie stormed into her house, still fuming.

"Honey, what's wrong?" her worried mother asked as she went through the pantry searching for some food.

"Nothing," she said, taking out a nutri-grain bar.

"Why are you back from cheerleading so early?"

"Kim was being a bitch…again." She took an angry bite out of the sugary treat.

"Oh." What else could her mother say?

"And I'm not going tomorrow either; Hell, I might even take the rest of the week off," she said to no one in particular. But that wasn't saying much, since the next day was Thursday.

A/N—Lots of dramatic irony eh? Well, there would be to those who have read the original anyway. If you haven't, just ignore that statement. Please read and review, since I haven't posted in weeks.


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